Strategies

What Works for Health includes evidence-informed strategies to create communities where everyone can thrive.

84 Strategies
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Medical marijuana legalization

Allow eligible patients to use marijuana for medical purposes; often called medical marijuana laws (MMLs)
Evidence Rating:
Mixed Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Medication-assisted treatment access enhancement initiatives

Provide medications such as methadone to individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder in outpatient, residential, and hospital settings, usually with counseling and behavioral therapies; often called MAT
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use

Microfinance & microenterprise

Support programs that provide small loans, usually to individuals with lower incomes, to start or expand a small business, often with business development training and other technical assistance
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Income, employment and wealth

Minimum wage increases

Increase the lowest hourly, daily, or monthly compensation that employers may legally pay to workers
Evidence Rating:
Mixed Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Income, employment and wealth

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Neighborhood associations

Establish voluntary formal groups of residents who work together to create a unified voice, enhance living conditions in their neighborhood, and address neighborhood concerns
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Civic and community resources

Nurse-friendly work environments

Improve work environments for nurses via establishment of strong nursing leadership, organizational support, etc.
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Clinical care

Societal Rules

  • Institutional practices

Open gym time

Offer time during the school day for children to play in the gym, often during lunch period; shared use agreements can expand open gym opportunities to community members outside school hours
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Civic and community resources

Open Streets

Allow community members to gather, socialize, walk, run, bike, skate, etc. on streets temporarily to closed to motorized traffic; also called Ciclovía programs
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Civic and community resources
  • Climate

Participatory budgeting

Engage community members to determine how public budgets are spent, ideally to improve neighborhood conditions and reduce inequality.
Evidence Rating:
Mixed Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Civic and community resources

Societal Rules

  • Budgets
  • Governance

Payday loan regulations

Regulate short-term loans that must be repaid by a borrower’s next pay day via bans, caps on maximum interest rates and loan amounts, or require minimum loan terms and credit cost
Evidence Rating:
Mixed Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Income, employment and wealth

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies